Flags of Peace (NL) honoured me with an invitation to design an international peace flag to represent my country (Uruguay) in their international exhibition Flags of Peace which travels around the world. Many bold designers and studios have already joined the great cause behind this project by designing the flag for their respective countries.

My thoughts:

I believe that for a flag to be International it has to represent/address all cultures equally. Therefore, we cannot rely on words, since language only represent a certain culture. Although there are some symbols that are internationally associate with peace, when looking at their origins, research showed me that, for the most part, their either represented something else or were linked to a specific religion. Accordingly, the use of them was judged inappropriate. There are normally two sides in a conflict putting peace away, where either two persons, or groups (nations, towns, etc.) are confronted for things such as religion, genre, skin color, social class, origins, and so on. For peace to take place, these two sides need to come to terms and see each other as equals in order to impart mutual respect.

Concept: My flag carries a message of hope, showing these opposite sides finding common ground, complementing each other and sharing instead of dividing and excluding. Symmetry was used as means of representing equality and balance between two sides that although they look different (color), they are equals (form). The symmetrical image is also an analogy for a mirror, encouraging people to find a piece of themselves in the one in front of us.

Some of the versions/sketches created throughout the development process.